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| <back | home Money & HopeDance It takes money to keep HopeDance alive and, as with most enterprises on the edge, we need to be creative to keep the business alive and thriving. It has had its ups and downs, and since this issue is about money, I thought it appropriate to disclose the money information. Money comes in from advertisers, subscribers, film-goers, “renters’ from our film library and periodic donations from our patrons (we have a 5013c that is accepting donations now). Some readers may imagine that the advertisers pay for the printing of the issue. Not so; we have a certain amount of advertising-trades that goes on as well as the paid advertising. The actual paid advertising only covers 70-80% of the cost of just the printing of each issue. Of course, this doesn’t even include the necessities, such as rent, office supplies, postage, mailing services, webmaster fees, books, magazines, films, etc. And of the traded advertising, much of the trade items [such as films (for our film library or that we or the Palm Theatre screen), books, coffee, meals, chocolate, massage, conferences...] go to volunteers, distributors, advertisers, readers, contributors and myself. Traded ads for Bioneers, Green Festival, Portland’s VBC, the Sustainable World Congress and other conferences often go to readers of HopeDance as lottery gifts. Very recently, we have been able to create press passes to allow our freelancers access to conferences for reporting purposes. It’s a balance of how I can play with the traded products as well as making sure we have plenty of cash to pay for the essentials of the business. We have engaged in a new enterprise with the HopeDance Film Library/Store inside Caffe Luna. The rent is $400 a month so we hope to be able to “rent” 2-3 films a day in order to break even, since the object necessarily isn’t to make money but to get these films out to the community so we can be better educated about globalization, American consumption, models of sustainability, permaculture practices, etc. HD Library also is a place to get the word out about the films that we screen in cities throughout the various counties. It certainly helps when a number of people become film club members, at $100 a year. It’s good for us and it’s great for them since they can borrow for free up to four films per week for a year. Families and households can use the film club card, as long as they restrict their film diet to four per week. Most publications die within the first four years, often leaving the publisher drained of a loan or his or her inheritance. Because we have no outstanding loans, no corporate sponsors, no entrepreneurial zeal to “spend lots of money to make money,” we are cautious and go as evenly as the real money coming in allows. As for me personally, the range that I receive ranges from $2,000 to $4,000 a year. If I had to pay a prepress production person, it would cost easily $2,000 each issue to produce a 48-page tabloid publication. But I’m having fun. I count myself as one of the lucky ones who can do what they enjoy doing. I was also very fortunate to have teachers (non-college teachers) in my early years to help me cultivate purpose, passion and meaning. You can have all the money in the world, but without those key elements, I guarantee you won’t be genuinely happy. Without happiness, money is nothing, or worse. The pursuit of money becomes such a dreaded waste of time and energy and a total drain on one’s soul, since the symbols of happiness are usually a counterfeit of what we really need, what truly nourishes us. Bob Banner <back | top^ |